Even with a bum shoulder and a sore forearm, Smith can throw the ball better right now than newly-injured third-stringer Shaun Hill.

Hill struggled to grip the ball and pass it in Friday’s practice after having dislocated and fractured his right index finger.

“What a strange week,” Smith said, smiling and shaking his head as he grabbed a stool and sat down in front of his locker.

It began Wednesday with Smith contradicting coach Mike Nolan’s pronouncements about his health, telling reporters his separated right shoulder and strained forearm had never stopped bothering him in three outings since his return.

A day later, Nolan designated Trent Dilfer as the starter, and both Smith and Nolan openly wondered when or if he would return to play this season. And the possibility remains that he won’t.

Hill, who hasn’t thrown a pass in a regular-season game in his six NFL seasons, was poised ascend to the No. 2 job while doctors reassessed Smith’s injuries.

But a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams: Hill’s hand struck Parys Haralson’s helmet as he followed through on a pass near the end of Thursday’s practice. Team doctors determined it was broken and dislocated. Hill said he has been told his finger will take two to three weeks to heal but won’t require surgery.

“It’s very frustrating, the timing of it,” said Hill, whose only appearance in an NFL game came for Minnesota in 2005. He was sent in for Brad Johnson with seconds remaining, allowing Johnson to walk off the field to an ovation while Hill ran out the clock with a couple of kneel-downs.

Dilfer now is the 49ers’ only healthy quarterback going into Sunday’s game, in which they’ll be trying to snap their seven-game losing streak.

Smith had been expected to sit out because of continuing soreness in his passing shoulder. But he practiced Friday for the first time this week, taking repetitions with the scout team, and Nolan said Smith is expected to be the No.2 quarterback behind Dilfer.

If needed, the team’s third quarterback would be either wide receiver Arnaz Battle or running back Michael Robinson, both of whom played quarterback in college. Battle got some practice snaps at quarterback on Thursday, and Robinson worked on throwing the ball and handing it off after Friday’s practice.

Hill wore a metal splint over the finger at Friday’s practice. Testing his ability to play with the fractured finger, Hill took a couple of snaps without any problem but throwing the ball was a struggle.

“Once I had to grip and rip, it was the problem,” Hill said. “That’s the last finger the ball comes off of when you release it. That’s the bad part. Usually, I flick the ball, but today I was more pushing it.”

Hill said he would run some test plays today and before the game.

“I’m not going to give up,” said Hill.

Nolan said he expects Hill to suit up for the game, but it’s likely he wouldn’t be used except in an emergency.

Smith said that while he’s still dealing with problems in his passing shoulder and forearm, he feels he is “definitely more functional than Shaun right now. Just watching him throw today with a broken and dislocated finger was tough.”

Smith also made it a point to take the scout-team repetitions normally reserved for the backup.

“Ideally, yes, you would have liked to have rested it,” Smith said of his shoulder. “But it’s not fair to Trent to ask him to take all the practice reps. He’s the starter, and he’s going to be playing in two days, and I don’t think its fair to the defense to go through a whole practice without getting a look.”

Nolan said a quarterback likely will be added to the practice squad next week.

EXTRA POINTS: Following Friday’s practice, Nolan flew to Dallas to attend today’s funeral of his father, former 49ers coach Dick Nolan. Mike Nolan is expected to rejoin the 49ers in time for team meetings Saturday night. … Running back Frank Gore (ankle) and safety Mark Roman (knee) practiced with restrictions for the first time Friday and are expected to play against the Rams.

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